


The Millionaire Matchmaker

by Tacuma



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anger, First Dates, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Matchmaking, matchmaking gone wrong, the millionaire matchmaker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-06
Updated: 2013-12-06
Packaged: 2018-01-03 16:17:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1072562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tacuma/pseuds/Tacuma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Billionaire Tony Stark finally decided to join the television show 'The Millionaire Matchmaker'. Hostess Patti Stanger finds him the most wonderful girls and he takes one of them on a lovely date, but it just doesn't work out. Mostly because Tony is more interested in camera operator Steve Rogers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Millionaire Matchmaker

**Author's Note:**

> The Millionaire Matchmaker is a real show, it's been too long since I've seen it, so don't hurt me if the things I describe in the fic aren't exactly like in the shows. Also, I might have made hostess Patti Stanger a bit of a bitch. I don't know if she is, but she turned out that way. I also don't know a single thing about filming television shows, friendship, dates and Malibu, so if I wrote something stupid you now know why. I wrote this for NaNoWriMo, and everyone who ever joined that knows you end up writing crap. I hope you enjoy the crap anyway.
> 
> I do not own anything, btw!

**The Millionaire Matchmaker**

‘Crew, gather around and fucking listen,’ said Nick Fury, super famous director of a whole lot of shows that were airing all over the world. ‘Barton, I hope you’re listening, because I’m not going to repeat myself. There is another candidate for The Millionaire Matchmaker. I know most episodes have been filmed already, but this guy came last minute and said he wanted to join, after refusing the first times we offered. I wanted to tell him he was too damn late, but it seems even I can’t say no to Tony fucking Stark.’

‘Tony Stark?’ asked Clint Barton, the make-up artist. ‘The one and only Tony Stark? The billionaire, playboy, whatever Tony Stark?’

‘Yes, that Tony Stark,’ sighed the director. 

‘Isn’t this show for millionaires who can’t find love?’ asked Natasha Romanoff, the assistant director. ‘Doesn’t that guy have a new girl every week? Why do we need him on this show? Why would he want to be on this show? Something’s up. Do you know more about it?’

‘I do not know anything about it,’ said Nick. ‘And you’re not going to question it. He is a big fish and with him on the show a lot of people will watch and we’re going to earn a lot of money. So stop complaining and prepare yourself to see him. I want you all to treat him like a king. One complaint from his side and I will kick you all out!’

‘So, who of us are going to see his Majesty?’ asked Clint.

‘Romanoff will go, you will go too, Barton, after you have done your magic here with Patti. As for the camera operator, bring Steve, he is probably the most down to earth in situations like this. Bruce for audio. Alright, that would be everything. Barton, prepare Patti now, so we can get some work done here as well.’

Clint hurried to the lady who ran the millionaire dating business. She wasn’t the youngest anymore, but always wanted to look young, hot and perfect, so it was a lot of work to prepare her. He hated helping her, because she was always bitching, but the job paid well. She might act pretty nice on television, but in real life, she was a witch.

‘Is it smart to send Natasha?’ asked Steve Rogers who did most of the camera work for director Nick Fury. The young blond had been in the army and didn’t mind the bossing around too much. He spoke his mind if necessary, but unlike Barton he didn’t argue. He could stay calm. It was the reason why Nick liked working with him and also the reason why he had to go and film Tony Stark. 

‘I mean, if Stark really has a different woman every week he might try to make a move on Natasha. She is an attractive woman, but we all have seen her react to guys that try to flirt with her, especially at inappropriate moments. No offense Nat, I think you’re totally right to kick them in the balls, or worse, but it might not improve our relation with Tony Stark.’

‘No offense taken, Steve,’ answered the redhead. ‘I think you have a point. Maybe you should go and be there yourself, mister Fury. We don’t want to lose this money machine.’

‘You think I will be able to hold back and not kick him in the fucking balls?’ asked the intimidating man. ‘The man is annoying as hell and I don’t want him within a mile radius if possible. You go, you act normal if he flirts with you and you, Rogers, Banner, make sure she won’t hurt him. And. You. Will. All. Treat. Him. Like. A. Fucking. King!’

‘Yes sir!’ said Steve as he quickly guided Natasha and Bruce out of the room, since they were both ready to explode. ‘We’ll grab all the things we need, so we’ll be ready to go when Clint is done!’ And with that they got out.

 

~

 

Natasha, Clint, Steve and Bruce stood in front of Stark Tower. The building was impressive and intimidating and none of them really wanted to go inside. But no one kept Tony Stark waiting, so they quickly unloaded their van and took everything they needed to the reception desk. A friendly lady showed them the elevator to the penthouse and announced to mister Stark that the film crew arrived.

The little group was used to a lot of luxury. This wasn’t the first season they were shooting and they had visited a lot of millionaires over the years. But Tony Stark wasn’t a millionaire, he was a billionaire and his house showed it. Everything was perfect, it was sophisticated and everything was screaming ‘expensive’. Bruce was so afraid he would break something that he barely moved.

They were greeted by a butler who introduced himself as ‘Jarvis’ and told them they could ask him for whatever they wanted. He brought them to the room where they would be shooting, so they could prepare themselves. Clint followed the butler to prepare Stark, while Natasha made some last minute changes to the script. Steve searched for the best spot when it came to light and everything and Bruce put his things up around that. Soon Jarvis came back with drinks and snacks and the three ate from it while they waited for Clint to be done.

Half an hour later the door opened and Tony Stark walked into the room. He was smiling brightly as he shook their hands and introduced himself. He held Natasha’s hand a little longer, but she kept her fake smile up.

‘Your make-up man can do magic!’ said the billionaire. ‘He made me look ten years younger. I’d hire him if I could. So, miss Romanoff, what are the plans for today?’

‘We will film your introduction movie,’ explained the assistant director. ‘In the show it will look like you send in that movie, but we’ll give you a hand, so the viewer will see what kind of person you are and what you exactly want from Patti Stanger.’

‘I wasn’t talking about the filming, sweetheart,’ said Stark as he moved a little closer to Natasha. ‘I was talking about your plans afterwards. What about dinner, a bottle of champagne and a few hours in bed?’

Natasha’s smile stretched a little wider. The three men could see she was about to kill the billionaire and she was trying her very best to hold back. Steve stepped forward.

‘I don’t think her husband would appreciate that,’ he said with the friendliest smile he had.

‘Well mister hot blond muscle, we don’t have to tell him. Care to join us?’

Steve simply ignored that last part and pointed to Bruce. ‘I’m afraid you just told her husband about your plans. So maybe we should just start the filming and see if Patti can get you a hot date.’ It was a lie, but who cared?

‘So you’re not going to join me in bed later either,’ asked the man with a pout. ‘Don’t tell me the magic make up man is your husband!’

‘He is not,’ laughed Steve. ‘But I’m still not going to join you in bed either. We’re just here to do our jobs. Our director is very strict, mister Stark.’

‘Please, call me Tony. I should talk to that director of yours to change your job description a little, so sleeping with billionaires will totally be part of the job,’ sighed Tony. ‘Okay, well, great, let’s start the show. I have a few more meetings this afternoon. What do I do?’

Natasha took over again. ‘If you could tell who you are, what kind of business you are in and why you need Patti’s help to find you a girl. Just be yourself, tell only the things you want to tell. If you want to you can practice before we start filming. If something is going wrong we will stop you and we’ll do it again. Steve will put everything together later, so he can easily cut things out. Do you have any questions?’

‘Yes, why are you only helping me to find girls?’ asked the billionaire. ‘When I called I said I’m bisexual and I wanted both men and women in this show. You director said he would get the message to that Patti lady. So why am I only allowed ladies in this private party?’

‘Our director has been discussing it with Patti Stanger,’ said Natasha. ‘He heard your request and he tried to get both men and women, but Patti doesn’t agree with it. She said it’s too difficult to work with men and women. There will be another millionaire in the show and all the ladies and gentlemen will gather in one room, but half of them are meant for you and the other half for the other millionaire. It’s up to you to find out which are yours. She thinks it’s too difficult to if they have ladies and gentlemen for you and only ladies for the other. Director Fury doesn’t agree and I’m afraid neither of them will give in. So we will film a small part twice. In the first you can ask for both men and women, but in the second you will have to ask for women only.’

‘I don’t see why it would be any more difficult if I get men and women,’ sighed Tony. ‘If the other guy is straight as an arrow he won’t even come close to the guys! But if they make it a girls only party we will have to talk to all of them to see which one will suit us.’

‘Yes, that is what we thought,’ explained Natasha. ‘But at the moment there is nothing we can do about it. In a few days they will have sorted out what they will do and they will let you know as soon as they decided. In the meantime, would you mind making two versions of this video?’

‘No, sure I’ll make two versions,’ said the billionaire a bit grumpy. ‘Maybe my perfect match is a guy and I will never meet him, because it’s too difficult for the fat, ugly lady.’

‘You should see her without make up,’ grinned Clint.

Tony laughed. ‘I’d rather not, doubt I’ll ever get that imagine bleached from my brain! Let’s get this over with.’

‘Could you please sit down over there?’ asked Steve. ‘Better light. Would want you to look perfect for this, right?’

‘Hell yes, hottie, not as young as you anymore, so I gotta do everything I can to attract the ladies and gents!’

The billionaire sat down in the place that Steve asked him to and he winked at the camera. ‘Get that camera rolling! I have a feeling I will get it right in one go.’

Tony Stark was a charismatic man and it showed. He smiled at the camera before he started introducing himself professionally and described his business. He told he worked mostly in New York, but that he could be found in Malibu often as well, since he had a second house there. He even explained that he was tired of the press lying about him having a different girl so often, he did spend time with a lot of women in his life, but he wanted a serious relationship now, with either a man or a woman.

Steve had to admit that the billionaire seemed to be serious. He made a few jokes, but nothing too bad. He sounded honest and friendly and attractive. Like this he would have no trouble at all to find himself a girl, or a guy. He wondered why Tony actually wanted to join this show.

‘That was pretty good, Stark,’ said Natasha when the man was done. ‘I think we have enough material to create a video for you. Just do the part again where you say you want either men or women and say you would like to have a nice girl by your side.

Tony frowned, still not really agreeing with just the ladies, but he did as he was asked anyway. He put his smile back on and did the same part again, but this time just talking about women. Once again he did it right at once, so they were done quickly.

‘Great, that was perfect, mister Stark,’ said Natasha. ‘No need to redo anything. You will hear from us soon and then we’ll be back to shoot a scene where you’ll meet Patti Stanger. We’ll contact you within a week. Thank you very much for your cooperation.’

‘You’re welcome, if I’d known they’d bring a bunch of beautiful people to my house if I joined this show I would have agreed to do this earlier,’ smirked the man.

Natasha didn’t answer to that and helped Bruce to pack his things. Steve thought it was a bit rude to just leave it at this, so he turned to the billionaire. ‘So, why didn’t you agree to do this earlier?’

Tony seemed surprised when he heard the question. He probably hadn’t expected it. ‘You probably heard about the things that have happened in Afghanistan and everything? Don’t want things like that to happen again. I wanted to change my life. Believe it or not, but I had a relationship for almost a year with a wonderful woman. I want that again. I doubt it will be with someone from this show, but this is just a message to the press that I’m not the same man I used to be. Don’t really think they will change their minds about me not being a party animal anymore, but it’s worth a try.’

‘It must be difficult,’ answered Steve with sympathy. ‘With the press acting like you’re not serious about love the people who are serious won’t approach you. Only the gold diggers will remain.’

‘Exactly,’ snorted Tony. ‘That is why I want men in this show. I’m not saying men can’t be gold diggers, but it’s mostly women who are after my money. They all seem to think that I give away free cars and expensive jewellery or something.’

‘I’ll try my best to change their minds and make this a mixed thing,’ smiled Steve. There wasn’t much he could do, no one ever listened to him, but he could at least try to make this as comfortable for the billionaire as possible.

‘Aww, hot on the outside and sweet on the inside!’ grinned Tony. ‘Good thing I have a sweet tooth and did anyone ever tell you I like my food spicy? Maybe I should just destroy that tape and lock you up in my bedroom instead.’

Steve laughed. ‘I’m sorry, Tony, but I have work to do. See you next time.’

 

~

 

Steve was watching the video over and over again and changed little things until it was perfect. Normally he had much more work to do. Most millionaires didn’t really know what to say. They stuttered, used the wrong words or did something stupid and they would have to do things over again. Steve would end up with a few different versions of the video and had to cut all the parts that were good and mix them together.

Tony seemed to be used to explaining who he was and what his business was all about. Words came easy to him and he kept his trademark smile in place all the time. It was obvious he was used to the attention and the cameras.

‘He is a natural,’ said Bruce, who appeared behind the camera operator. ‘He is a completely different man on and off camera.’

‘Yeah, I wish all videos were so easy to put together,’ answered Steve.

‘Guess all millionaires have their own flaws,’ grinned Bruce. ‘Some are nice and friendly, but are terrible on camera and some are great on camera, but terrible in real life.’

‘We’re never lucky enough to have one that is nice and good on camera,’ laughed Steve. ‘But when it comes to people like Tony Stark I think you shouldn’t get angry. I understand Natasha did get angry, I would feel the same if I were her, but he is trying to get a reaction from people. Either to make them angry or to make them flirting back. He looks like he enjoys to toy with people that way, so the best is to stay calm and be a professional.’

‘You handled him well,’ complimented Bruce. ‘You really saved Nat back there.’

‘I used to be in the army, I learned how to deal with macho men there,’ answered Steve. ‘I’m just glad he didn’t push it and kept his attention to Natasha.’

‘But this was just the first part we were filming, we will have to go over there a few more times. We’ll see how he’ll behave then. Now could you play that video once more? I want to listen to the sound and see what I can do.’

 

~

 

Once again the little crew found themselves in front of Stark Tower. Natasha was coming up with all kinds of excuses to ditch them, but then a shiny black Audi parked behind their van. The director and Patti Stanger got out of the car and told her to lead the way. Natasha cursed in her mother language, Russian, then put on a fake smile and entered the tower. The others followed her.

Soon they were back in the penthouse where the butler once again greeted them. He told them to make themselves comfortable while he would get mister Stark. Patti was pissed that she had to wait. The crew was used to it, so they discussed what place they could use for the little chat Patti and Tony would have. In front of each other at a table often worked best, but there was no table in the enormous living room. Natasha peeked in a few other rooms and found a kitchen table. She made Steve check if the light was okay there and when he agreed it was a good place they hurried back to the living room.

Just in time, not even a minute later Tony Stark entered the room. This time not in an expensive designer suit, but in dirty, torn jeans and a black wife beater. His hair was a mess and there was something black on his face. Nobody dared to say a word.

‘Nobody told me you were coming,’ he said. ‘I was working.’

‘I told you yesterday, sir, and once again this morning,’ said Jarvis.

‘Did I sleep in between?’ asked the billionaire.

‘I don’t think you did, sir.’

‘That explains a lot. I’ll go and get ready then. Magic man, I trust you can make me look young and fresh again, even after an all-nighter! Husband, Wife, Steve, good to see you again. That video you guys made was great. Scary sir, scary lady, I will introduce myself to you when I’m ready. I’ll be back in an hour.’

‘Hold on a moment, Stark!’ said Patti. ‘You can’t walk away and let us wait for an hour.’

‘Can’t I?’ asked Tony as he turned back to the group. ‘It wasn’t me who wanted to be on this show so desperately. I got at least ten invitations if I please wanted to join. So if I need another hour, I will take another hour and if you don’t like that, why don’t you get the hell out of my house and go find some pitiful millionaire who is desperate for a date. You need me, I don’t need you.’

‘You could have at least prepared yourself a little for this!’ answered Patti. ‘We’re trying to do our job here. Every minute we waste costs us hundreds of dollars!’

‘You are trying to do your job?!’ asked Tony. ‘What the hell do you think I am doing? You’re wasting hundreds of dollars? What the hell do you think this costs me? It might not look like it, but I have been at work the entire night. I design and build most of the products that Stark Industries sells myself. I’m not just a man in a suit who smiles to the cameras and earns money. I do the work myself, so I know my company is not selling shit. If I would go back to work right now I could earn hundreds of thousands more, but no, I agreed to join this show and I’m making time for it. So don’t fucking tell me you have problems with me being a little late. You, the person who doesn’t do a fucking thing herself! Your crew does everything for you and thank God for that, because they were actually able to do a good job, while all I have seen you do is bitching around!’

Patti was about to fight back, when Nick Fury stepped up. ‘Mister Stark, we understand you are a busy man, but we have a lot of work to do as well, so we hope you can hurry and get back here as soon as possible.’

‘I told you I’d get ready, didn’t I?’ answered Tony. ‘The longer you’ll all keep arguing, the longer it will take. And you guys will need that hour, because our show host over there hasn’t got any make up on yet. Isn’t that going to take at least an hour as well? Now, if you’ll excuse me!’

Patti stepped forward and was ready to slap the billionaire in the face, but Nick stopped her and tried to calm her down. He wasn’t going to lose this deal, because the two of them liked to piss each other off. Steve ran after the rich man.

‘Tony, sorry, but do you mind if we set everything up in your dining room?’

Tony blinked. ‘The dining room, why the dining room?’

‘We need the two of you to sit at a table,’ explained the blond cameraman. ‘And I might have peeked around a little and saw you have a beautiful dining room, so I hoped we could shoot the scene there. Would you mind that?’

‘Oh, you’ve been sneaking around in my house, naughty boy!’ smirked Tony. ‘If you like my dining room you will like my bedroom even better. Maybe we shoot a scene there afterwards. Just you and me.’

‘Maybe some other time,’ smiled Steve. ‘After we filmed this I will have to put everything together again and we don’t have too much time. There are a few videos of millionaires I have to put together. Not everyone is as easy to work with as you are.’

‘Easy to work with?’ laughed Tony. ‘I doubt your boss would say the same. But thank you. Compliments will get you everywhere. You’re allowed to use the dining room. Get everything set up and I’ll be right back.’

Steve went back to the others and told them the good news. He and Bruce went to set everything up in the dining room, with Natasha to help them. Clint did Patti’s make up and when he was done Jarvis brought him to the billionaire. Fury was watching them all work and especially kept an eye on Patti.

It was less than an hour when Tony returned. He looked as smooth as he had looked the other day. He was once again wearing a beautiful suit that fit him perfectly and his hair was an organised mess. He even smelled good, but that was something that didn’t matter on TV. He eyed the set up in his dining room and nodded in approval. He sat down at one of the chairs and placed his feet on another one.

‘So, what exactly are we filming today?’ he asked.

‘Patti will ring the doorbell and you’ll have to let her into your home, the two of you will sit down at the table and she will tell you what she thought of your video. She will ask you why you all of a sudden want a serious relationship and what kind of woman you are looking for. The two of….’

‘Wait a minute!’ said Tony. ‘Woman. What kind of woman I’m looking for? Don’t you mean ‘partner’? I thought I was clear about it that I’m bisexual and that I want men too. So why is it just women know and why didn’t anyone tell me?!’

‘We already picked out a few ladies for you,’ said Patti as nice as she could. ‘We already filmed everything as well. So you’ll go for women and there will be no men involved.’

Tony stood up, threw his hands in the air and cried in frustration. ‘Seriously? Just because you already filmed that part and didn’t want to go through the trouble of finding me some guys we’re only working with women now? And you already picked them while we didn’t even film the part where you ask me what I like in a woman? Awesome, just awesome! This whole show is even more fake than I thought! Give me one good reason why I’m still fucking doing this?!’

‘Because you fucking agreed to do this and you signed a fucking contract, so get your ass back in the chair and get this thing started!’ said Nick furiously. 

The crew was shocked. They were told to treat Tony like a king and then the director did something like this. With Patti, Nick and Tony ready to explode, Bruce decided to be brave and stepped forward.

‘Can’t we let mister Stark tell miss Stanger that he would like both men and woman and afterwards let miss Stanger explain to the viewers that she thinks a woman would be best for mister Stark. Wouldn’t that solve a big part of the problem?’

‘Yes, that would work,’ answered Natasha, helping the shy Bruce out. ‘The viewers will know that Tony is actually bisexual and there is no need to search for any men. We won’t have to redo the shoots where you pick out which ladies are suitable.’

Everyone agreed, but no one was truly happy with the decision. They didn’t really have another choice. Patti went outside and Bruce and Steve followed with a camera and a microphone. They filmed how she rang the doorbell and how Tony opened the door for her. They smiled at each other, shook hands and left kisses in the air near each other’s cheeks. They acted like they were delighted to see each other and Tony took the hostess to his dining room where they both set down.

‘All the awards,’ whispered Clint as Natasha explained what Patti and Tony had to talk about. ‘These guys are amazing actors. They don’t look like they want to kill each other at all when the camera is running.’

‘They’re both used to faking it, I think,’ said Steve as he changed the lights a little. ‘I know Patti fakes it all the time and last time we filmed Tony he also became a completely different man with the camera on him.’

Natasha clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. ‘Okay, everyone in position, we’re starting again.’

Everyone got ready, Steve started filming and Tony and Patti put their smiles back on.

‘So, Tony, I was really happy to get your video, because I always hoped I could find the perfect match for you. We’ve all seen you with at least a hundred different girls in all the magazines and newspapers and I felt sorry you couldn’t find the right one. So I’m excited to help you, but there was something about your video that I didn’t like.’

‘There was something you didn’t like?’ asked Tony, fake surprised. ‘What was it? My couch? My wallpaper?’

‘No, it was you being all flirty,’ continued Patti. ‘You say you want to find the perfect girl, but…’

‘Partner,’ interrupted Tony. ‘I want to find the perfect partner. I’m bisexual, so I swing both ways. You might have seen me with a fair share of women, but I do date guys too.’

Patti forced a smile. ‘Of course, I forgot about that. You said you want to find the perfect partner, but your video is all flirty. Women don’t like it when you flirt with everybody. Men probably don’t like it either. They want to feel special, they want to feel like ‘the one’. If you flirt with everyone they won’t stick around. You have to change that and show them they are special, they are different.’

‘I didn’t realise I was doing that,’ said Tony a bit surprised. ‘I’ll try my best not to flirt with everyone once you found me the perfect match.’

‘You’re a very smooth talker, so I’m sure you won’t have a problem with talking to the people I will pick for you, but remember what I said once you meet them. A little flirting is fine, but not too much. You will meet them all at once, so make sure you give them all a bit of your attention.’

‘No problem,’ grinned Tony. ‘If they are good looking I will make sure to give all of them a little of my attention.’

‘If you want a serious relationship you have to change!’ said Patti again, a little more strict this time. ‘The hot dumb girls are after your money! They are not interesting in a serious thing with you. Is looks all that matter to you or are you looking for anything else in a partner?’

‘Well, they don’t have to be bikini models,’ started Tony.

‘CUT!’ shouted Natasha. ‘One of the girls that is chosen for you is a bikini model.’

‘We picked her to trick him,’ said Patti. ‘To see if he is still only caring about the outside and not the inside. If he says they don’t have to look like bikini models and he will still pick her, everyone will know what he really wants from a girl.’

‘This is seriously the worst show ever,’ sighed Tony. He looked angry, but was obviously holding back. ‘You’re trying to fucking trick me. This show wants me to look like a playboy that is only after all the hot chicks to have one night of fun. I thought you were serious about your business.’

‘The serious parts starts when you pick the right girl and take her on a proper date,’ bitched Patti back.

‘Fine, whatever!’ answered the billionaire , sitting back in his chair. ‘Can we just hurry the fuck up?’

‘Yes, let’s start where we left of,’ said Natasha. ‘Could you repeat the sentence about the bikini models? Thank you.’

Tony put his fake smile back on and leaned a little forward. ‘They don’t have to be bikini models, but I wouldn’t mind if they are good looking. It’s more important that they have brains. I want someone I can talk to and who understands what kind of job I do. Also someone flexible, because I work at impossible times, sometimes even at night.’

‘So what celebrity would you date if you could?’ asked Patti, so the viewers would know what kind of type the billionaire liked.

‘I can date almost any celebrity, so I’m not going to answer that question,’ answered Tony. ‘If you want to know what my type is, I can tell you I like blonds. If it’s a women I don’t want them to be too blond, you know, the extreme fake blond often combined with an extreme tan. As for men, I like tall natural blonds with blue eyes.’

For a split second he smirked at the camera before he returned his attention to Patti. ‘Is that specific enough?’

‘Yes, I can work with that,’ she answered. ‘I’m going to find you the perfect partner if you can stop being flirty!’

‘I will stop, I will stop!’ promised Tony. 

‘Great! I’ll find you some perfect people and I will see you in a week!’ smiled Patti and with that said she shook his hand and left.

The camera stopped and the crew started discussing what parts had to be redone and what parts were good to work with. Steve told them which parts didn’t look good enough and what the two had to change and they did those parts again. Within another hour they were done and everyone was packing.

Patti and the director left as soon as they were done. Natasha told Tony when the next parts would be filmed and when he had to show up. She also asked permission to film a few rooms in his house, to fill up some parts of the show and make it more interesting to watch. A little variation, to show what kind of life he lived.

‘Steve will stay a bit longer to film those, you don’t have to be there,’ explained the redhead. ‘If your butler is around to let him out when he is done then that’s enough.’

‘I can stay and help him,’ offered Bruce.

‘No, I need you to pick music for the new show we’re starting,’ answered Natasha. ‘We’ll have someone pick Steve up when he is done. He has done it before, he knows what we need.’

‘He can stay, no problem,’ answered Tony. ‘Jarvis, give him something to drink while I change into something more comfortable.’

‘Yes sir,’ answered the butler. ‘What would you like to drink, mister Rogers?’

‘Coffee, please,’ answered Steve. ‘Black, one sugar.’

The butler left the room to get his drink. ‘I’ll never get used to this,’ muttered the camera operator.

‘Then you better be careful,’ laughed Clint. ‘Mister Stark seems to like you and you’re totally his type. Don’t let him sweep you off your feet, or you’ll end up living in a place like this and you will always have butlers do everything for you. Oh what a hard life that would be!’

‘I prefer doing things myself,’ said Steve. ‘If I can do something myself I’m not letting someone else do it for me.’

‘You’ve been in the army,’ said Bruce. ‘You got to take care of yourself there, until you’re in actual battle, right?’

‘Yes,’ smiled Steve. ‘Exactly. And that is why you guys can go back already, I can handle things here.’

Laughing the three others left the place. Steve didn’t feel very comfortable alone in the expensive dining room. He took his stuff to the living room, since that would be one of the places he would film. He looked out of the big windows. The view from here was wonderful, maybe he could film that too. He was deep in thought when the butler entered the room again with his coffee.

‘Here you go, sir. Mister Stark will be with you shortly,’ he said as he put a mug on the table. ‘Either make yourself comfortable or start filming already. You have permission to film the living room and the dining room. Everything else you will have to discuss with mister Stark.’

‘Thank you Jarvis,’ answered Steve. He took the mug and took a sip from the coffee. He was glad it wasn’t served in a tiny, breakable cup, as often happened when they visited millionaires. With his big hands he was always afraid he would crush them when he picked them up.

He put the mug back on the table and grabbed his camera. He searched for the right angle and started filming the perfectness of the living room. Things like this were a bit boring to do, but it had to happen. He was glad he could take his time here. It often happened that some security guy stood behind him and impatiently waited until he got what he needed.

Steve slowly moved the camera from one side of the room to the other, having the perfect amount of floor and ceiling in view. When he reached the other end of the room the billionaire walked in with a mug of coffee too. He was wearing a Black Sabbath shirt and jeans.

‘Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you were already working,’ he said. ‘Now you have to redo it.’

‘It’s fine,’ answered Steve. ‘I know the right angle, so it isn’t much work to do it again.

‘Where should I stand so that I won’t be in your line of view again?’ asked Tony.

‘Somewhere next to me,’ answered Steve. ‘Somewhere behind the camera.’

The billionaire went to stand next to the camera operator, but then he noticed the mug on the table. ‘Should I hold that while you film or is that part of the charm?’

‘It makes your living room look more like a room where people live in,’ smiled Steve. ‘And not like a commercial for furniture. So if you don’t mind it I would like to leave it there.’

‘Sure, fine with me,’ answered the dark-haired man. ‘I hardly use this room, that’s why it’s looks so boring. I have another, smaller living room, with a big ass TV. If I use one, it’s that one.’

‘Hardly the place you want to greet someone like Patti Stanger,’ grinned the blond.

‘She’d think even worse of me!’ sighed Tony. ‘Does she want to humiliate all people who join her show or is this some personal vendetta against me? She really seemed to do whatever she could to piss me off.’

‘She is like that with all the millionaires,’ said Steve and after he filmed the living room again he put his camera down and went to get his coffee. ‘She thinks everyone with so much money is used to getting whatever they want. But they come to her for help with finding a woman, because that is the one thing they don’t have control over. She does have control over that and she likes to rub it in. She abuses her position to put the millionaires in place.’

‘She is a horrible person, why do you work for her?’

‘I don’t,’ answered Steve. ‘I work for director Fury. He had a few fights with her about it, but they earn money with this show, so he gives in easily and they just continue like they always did.’

‘I still don’t understand why my PA thought it was a good idea to join, but I guess I’ll have to grit my teeth and do whatever is necessary. Come on, sit down, please. Drink your coffee before you continue. You can use a break.’

Steve sat down. ‘You didn’t decide yourself to join this?’ 

‘No, I make decisions about my company, but my personal life is run by others,’ explained the billionaire.

‘Then how can you ever meet a partner that is perfect for you?’ asked Steve. ‘Or do they plan some time for you to go out and meet new people?’

Tony laughed. ‘I meet plenty of new people every week, but they’re mostly stuck up rich people or annoying ones that want my money. And now and then a normal guy like you shows up and I can have a normal conversation.’

Steve chuckled. ‘Glad I’m not considered to be stuck up or annoying.’

‘You could be even better if you help me out with that cheap trick that Stanger wants to pull on me,’ said Tony. ‘The bikini model, do you know who it is, what she looks like? I don’t want to fall for that trick and look like an idiot on television. Done that way too many times already.’

‘I haven’t seen her,’ answered Steve. ‘But I know she is blond, but she probably won’t be the only one with long blond hair. If she is a bikini model I’m sure she will have bigger boobs that most others and she won’t be afraid to show a part of them to get your attention. So if you get a pair of boobs shoved in your face, it’s probably her. But all girls always dress rather… naked. They all show a lot of skin.’

‘You can film all of that and edit it afterwards, but you don’t sound too happy about it,’ said Tony a bit surprised. ‘You’re not interested I them? Not secretly zooming in on the attractive ones?’

‘If the director would notice I did that he’d kick me out immediately!’ laughed Steve. ‘But that is probably why he chose me, I’m not interested. Girls should wear whatever they like, but I personally prefer it if they leave something to imagination. Not that they will end up in my imagination, I’m gay. I like it better when we have a female millionaire that asks for guys. I get to film a bunch of good looking men in suits.’

‘Oh, I envy you!’ laughed Tony. ‘Good looking men, women and millionaires and you get to ogle at them without anyone noticing. You are one lucky bastard.’

‘Guess I am,’ answered Steve. ‘I can film in wonderful houses, like this, and I go with the couple on their dates, so I get to do a lot of interesting things I could never afford if I’d go on a date myself.’

‘What did you like to do most?’ asked Tony. ‘Did you ever had to do something extreme?’

‘Not really, there once was a very adventurous couple and they went bungee jumping, but I couldn’t join that, of course, I only got to film it. But I loved it when one couple made a helicopter flight. It’s great to film things from such a great height and still see everything so well. Planes have small windows, but from a helicopter you can see so much.’

‘I will have to plan the date, won’t I?’ asked Tony. 

‘Yes, it’s always the man who will have to plan the date,’ answered Steve. ‘And I should get back to work or they will wonder why I was gone for such a long time.’

‘Just tell them I wanted you to set your camera in my bedroom, so we could shoot some action scenes,’ smirked Tony.

‘The last thing you need right now is a sex tape,’ answered Steve with a grin. ‘Who is going to take you serious when you say you want a proper relationship only a few weeks after a video of you and a hot blond turned up on the internet?’

‘Damn you,’ laughed Tony. 

Steve filmed everything he needed and the billionaire stayed until he was done. They filmed the skyline from the balcony, the dining room and some artsy things that were everywhere around the house. They were about done when Steve got a phone call that his colleague was waiting for him downstairs. Steve said he would be right there, he would just have to grab his things.

‘Thank you for letting me film,’ said Steve.

‘Thanks for helping me out with that bikini model,’ answered Tony. ‘And I hope I will see you again next time we’re shooting. I might need more of your help!’

‘I’ll be there,’ said Steve. ‘Filming the millionaires is always my job, so we’ll see each other again.’ He said goodbye to Tony and went downstairs. He and his colleague filmed Stark Tower from the ground before they went back to the studios.

 

~

 

Tony was in hair and make-up when Natasha entered the room. Today they would film the meeting with the girls and it would happen in an expensive hotel. The millionaires had to look perfect, so Clint was also in charge of the hair.

‘Mister Stark,’ said Natasha. ‘We’re starting in about an hour. You will meet the other millionaire, have a little chit chat with him before Patti will join you and explain what is going to happen. I will already explain right now, because Patti often forgets things and we like you to know what you will have to do. After the Patti’s explanation she will take you and the other millionaire into a room with about twenty to thirty women that were chosen for the two of you. She will introduce you and you will get to talk with them. Try to find out things you think are important. Ask about their jobs and hobbies, things like that. After an hour, maybe an hour and a half, Patti will call you apart and ask you to pick two girls. You get to talk privately with them for about fifteen minutes and then you have to pick either of them to go on a date with. That is about everything you should know, any questions?’

‘Is Steve working today?’ asked Tony.

‘Yes, you will meet him soon in the room where you will meet the other millionaire.’

‘Then I don’t have any questions,’ answered he billionaire.

When Clint was done with him, Natasha brought Tony to a small room in the hotel. It was connected to a big room where they could hear voices coming from. The girls were slowly gathering there, but Tony didn’t pay attention to their voices. He saw his favourite cameraman standing in a corner of the room.

‘Steve, good to see you,’ he greeted the blond. 

Steve smiled and greeted him. ‘You look great,’ he said. ‘That’s a beautiful suit. But I don’t really like what Clint did to your hair.’

‘Me neither,’ answered the billionaire. ‘But I had nothing to say about it. But I have a question for you, I know you’ll answer it honestly. Are there any other dirty tricks I should know about?’ 

‘No dirty tricks,’ answered Steve. ‘No other than the bikini model trick. But you should probably know that it doesn’t really matter what you will do or say. They will cut the parts they don’t like. They want to make it look like you acted all flirty with those women. They will make it look like you couldn’t overcome your ‘weakness’, just so Patti can give you another warning about that before you go on a date with one of the girls.’

‘Seriously?’ asked Tony. ‘Fucking seriously? Can you cover for me while I sneak out and never come back?’ 

‘Sure, I’ll tell them you ran off with someone of the hotel staff,’ answered Steve with a straight face.

‘You’d really do that, wouldn’t you?’

‘Yes, if I had to,’ stated Steve. ‘I don’t like it if people have to do things against their will.’

‘Me neither,’ answered Tony. ‘But Pepper will have my ass if I run away now. Oh, Pepper is my PA, by the way. She forced me to do this, she won’t let me get away that easily. Well, thank you for the warning.’

‘You’re welcome,’ answered Steve as he continued the work with his camera. He set up more than one in this room as well as a few in the other room where the millionaires would meet the ladies. He would get help from some other cameramen, of course, he could only work with one camera at the time, but he was still in charge of the filming. If something went wrong they would blame him.

Soon the other millionaire entered the room and a loud ‘STARK?!’ was shouted. Everyone looked up and watched how the two rich men approached each other.

‘What are you doing here, Hammer?’ hissed Tony to the other man. ‘Get your ass out of here immediately.’

‘Like hell I’m leaving!’ answered Justin Hammer, owner of a rival company. ‘Why are you here? Did the ladies lose interest in you? Are you desperately searching for a woman you haven’t slept with yet?’

‘At least the ladies want to join me in bed. I don’t have to deal with used goods, unlike you, remember that journalist?’ bitched Tony back.

Justin Hammer was ready to throw his drink in Tony’s face, but Natasha grabbed his arm and stopped him. ‘I reckon the two of you know each other?’ she asked.

‘We sure do,’ said Tony. ‘And I’m not doing this show with a loser like him!’

‘I’m not doing this with a whore like him next to me!’ answered Justin.

‘Shut the fuck up, the both of you!’ said Nick Fury that entered the room. ‘You both signed a contract that you would do this and you’re both doing this. Get a damn smile on your face and don’t scare off the ladies, or we will make the worst episodes of this show ever. And we won’t bother with censoring your fights. So if you don’t want your damn public image to be ruined, you two better behave!’

The two millionaires walked away from each other, both cursing to themselves. Tony immediately went back to Steve.

‘Does your offer still stand?’ he asked.

‘It does, but I doubt you get out of this room unseen now,’ answered Steve apologetic. ‘But he doesn’t look half as good as you do, if I may say so, and he doesn’t look as charismatic. So you got the advantage. Take it. Use it. Get all those ladies to like you better and see what will happen then. Or get him drunk.’

‘And there I thought you were a nice guy,’ said Tony. ‘You turn out to be an evil mastermind. I like you even better now.’

‘You know how many of these mixers I have seen in my life?’ asked Steve. ‘Probably hundreds. They are boring. Anything to spice them up.’

‘Alright then, I’ll make sure not a single lady in that room will go for Hammer,’ said Tony with confidence. ‘But it will be difficult for you to get good shots of him.’

‘I like a challenge,’ grinned Steve. ‘He will get less screen time. His own fault for ordering us around when we visited him at home. He wanted to pick all the places we filmed. When we filmed his video he wanted to show off his amazing view and he insisted he would sit in front of the window why we filmed him. It was cloudy that day, so I told them there would be a blinding backlight that way and he would be overshadowed by the background. He told me to shut up and get everything ready. There is only so much I can do while I edit all the footage and there is only so much I want to do.’

‘Really, all the apple pies and rainbows I saw around you disappeared. Let us unite in fighting this common enemy!’ laughed Tony. ‘But do all cameramen edit their film? Aren’t there special editors?’

‘Normally there are,’ answered Steve. ‘But I like editing my own work and the director lets me do so.’

‘Too bad you gotta do it for a sucking show like this,’ mumbled Tony. He wanted to say more, but Natasha called him and Justin Hammer. The two rivals glared at each other as they approached her.

‘So, you two hate each other’s guts, but we have to make a show here, so it would be nice if you could act like you either like each other or meet each other for the first time. Have another drink and get over it. Patti is ready to come in here and we can’t have the two of you fighting in front of her, or worse, in front of the ladies. Please put your smiles back on and try to get things done here.’

‘You start to sound like your boss,’ snorted Justin.

‘You started to act like a child the moment you saw mister Stark,’ answered Natasha. ‘Now if you would please get your drink and wait over there, we will start filming. Walk over to mister Stark, shake each other’s hand and talk about whatever. Just look excited.’

The cameras started rolling and Hammer approached Tony with a smile. They shook hands and greeted each other like they were the best of friends. They asked how the other was doing, but no questions were answered, because Patti walked in. She happily greeted them and shortly explained that the girls were waiting for them and what they were supposed to do.

The double doors opened and she took the two rich men into the room with ladies. Steve moved to a different camera without being seen, so he could continue working. 

Gentlemen, these are all the lovely ladies we found for you. Ladies, meet my millionaires! Could the two of you shortly introduce yourself?'

Justin Hammer told his name, his age and what kind of company he had. None of the ladies seemed very impressed.

'And our other millionaire!' interrupted Patti him.

'Billionaire actually,' grinned Tony. 'The only difference is a zero and a zero is nothing, right ladies? No need for introductions, you know who I am. I'm sure most of you own at least one of my products. Yes, that's a Stark phone, pretty lady! That's something I made. Now grab a drink and let's get this started. I love to get to know all of you!'

He didn't wait until Patti gave him the 'go ahead'. Tony just stepped forward, shook hands and smiled his brilliant fake smile. The girls swarmed around him and all wanted to talk to him. They all talked through each other, so he got things organized. He asked them a few questions and made sure he got to know something about their jobs and interests. He gave them all an equal amount of attention and they loved it.

A few tried their luck with Justin Hammer. But he was angry and wasn't very nice or very interested, so they quickly returned to Tony and he welcomed them back. He even made all of them a drink, giving him a chance to speak to all of them again a little. He grinned when he noticed Justin waiting in line for a drink, desperately trying to talk to the girls. Tony made his drink extra strong.

'Here honey, you need it,' smirked the billionaire. Hammer glared at him, but didn't say anything.  
Patti had been observing them with her colleagues and when the time was over she took the men apart. She took them back to the room where they were before and once again the crew followed.

'Where do we sit?' she asked Natasha. The redhead showed her a table where she could speak to the millionaires in private. Steve abandoned his camera and took his place behind yet another one. Bruce moved with him, listening carefully if the sound of their voices was clear enough. He worked on a few buttons before he gave a thumbs up to Natasha.

Patti took Tony to the table and sat down. Natasha told them Patti would have to tell what she thought of Tony's behaviour with the ladies and had to ask them which two ladies he liked best. When they were all instructed she stepped back and asked if the crew was ready.

'No,' said Steve. 'Tony, turn your body a little to the camera please? Otherwise we'll see a big part of your back and I'm sure the viewers rather see your front.'

'The viewers, but what about you?' asked Tony with a wink, but he turned anyway.

'Okay, perfect, we can start,' shouted Steve to the assistant director and they started again.

'Tony, you got all the attention from the girls, they adored you, but you flirted with all of them. I told you not to flirt so much!' said Patti.

'I just talked to them!' Tony defended himself. 

'You flirted with them,' stated the hostess. 'But they liked it, so I'll forgive you this time! Tell me which two girls you liked best.'

Tony named two girls who were educated and who both had a good job. Patti squealed. 

'Those were exactly the girls I chose for you! I hoped you would pick them! Great!'

She had the same kind of chat with Justin Hammer, but he had more trouble picking girls, since he knew only a few of their names. She scolded him for not showing enough interest and told him to ask the two girls questions and not to just answer them. It would make him look selfish and spoiled if he did.

‘Cut!’ shouted Natasha when Patti was done talking to Justin. ‘I think that was good enough. Steve, Bruce, check if we have to redo any of that, otherwise we’ll continue to the next shoot.’

‘No problems here,’ answered Bruce.

‘Things look fine here as well,’ added Steve. ‘We can move on. The next one is back in the other room again, right?’

‘Yes,’ answered Natasha. ‘Patti will tell the girls which of them are picked. You guys will both get a table in a different room and you get to talk to both girls for fifteen minutes. We’re filming both at the same time, so nobody will have to wait for too long.’

‘I want Steve as my cameraman!’ whined Tony and his blond favourite went to the room where the ladies were still waiting. ‘He knows what to do to make me look great on screen.’

Steve looked at Natasha. The assistant director shrugged. ‘You can’t do both,’ she answered.

‘I’ll join Tony then,’ answered the cameraman and he followed the billionaire and Bruce into the next room.

‘How did I do?’ asked Tony the moment the door closed behind them. ‘I hardly saw Hammer talking to anyone. How did he do? What girls did he pick?’

Steve smiled. ‘Sit down, so I can fix the camera while I tell you.’ Tony did as was told and Steve continued. ‘He talked to a few of the girls, but mostly because they felt sorry for him. He wasn’t too kind to them, so most of them quickly turned their back on him. Except for one, I think she saw an opportunity. If none of the others was interested he would probably pick her. And what is better is that it was our bikini model that went after Hammer.’

‘Perfect!’ cheered Tony. ‘How I love to piss him off.’

‘Maybe you’d like to know that he picked her as one of the girls he would talk to,’ said Bruce, who understood the situation by now.

‘He did? Poor girl!’ laughed the billionaire. When the door suddenly opened he quickly shut up. One of the girls entered the room. She was a lovely brunette, but her looks were a little boring. She had a degree though and that was what mattered.

‘Hi, I don’t really know what to do,’ she answered.

‘Natasha isn’t coming?’ Bruce asked.

‘No, she went with the other girl,’ the brunette answered. ‘She said mister Hammer might need more help with this than mister Stark.’

‘Please, call me Tony!’ said the billionaire from his spot at the table.

‘We will film how you enter the room,’ said Steve. ‘You sit down in front of Tony, make sure you turn a little towards me, and talk about whatever you like. Anything is fine. You have fifteen minutes to talk and only small parts of it will be used in the end, so don’t worry about saying something stupid. Just act like Bruce and I aren’t here.’

They started and Tony had a good chat with the girl. She was interesting to talk to, but they didn’t share any hobbies and she was about twelve years younger than he was. He had already decided he was going to take the other lady on a date, but this girl was dressed properly and behaved, so she was perfect to show the world he wasn’t after boobs and fake hair anymore.

After fifteen minutes Bruce told them their time was up. The brunette shook Tony’s hand and left. Soon the second lady joined them. She was a bit older, had an university degree as well, she had a proper job and she was adventurous. She said she loved long walks on the beach, but also parachuting and clubbing. She suited Tony much better. 

Another fifteen minutes later Patti walked in and the girl left. She sat down in front of Tony and asked how it went. Tony said everything went fine and that he made a decision. The hostess was very happy with his decision , told him to prepare a great date and shook his hand. Then she left the room.

‘Alright, we’re done,’ said Steve. ‘You’ll have to ask Natasha, but I think you can leave. We probably have to be there when Patti tells the girls who are the lucky ones.’

‘Too bad,’ said Tony. ‘Couldn’t take the real hottie away for a romantic lunch then! But I trust you will be the one filming the date, right? If not, I’m going to complain.’

‘Yeah, probably,’ answered Steve. ‘Bruce too.’

‘I don’t care about mister husband,’ said Tony. ‘He is not bad looking, but he is married. I don’t do that. Not too miss-redhead who looks like she could kill me and get rid of my corpse without anyone ever finding out.’

‘She can do that,’ laughed Steve. ‘We’ll see you next time then.’

‘It’s a date!’ laughed Tony and he walked towards Natasha.

Steve and Bruce moved to the room where the girls were waiting and took their positions there. The girls who were chosen were announced and both of them could shortly say what they thought about that. Some girls that weren’t chosen were asked for their opinion as well and about one and a half hour later only the staff was left.

‘Who did mister Hammer chose?’ asked Steve.

‘The bikini model,’ sighed Natasha. ‘Stanger was pissed, but he refused to change his mind. She has tried to talk sense into him for minutes. I’m curious what that date will look like, but I’m glad I don’t actually have to be there.’

‘Same here,’ answered the blond. ‘Tony asked if Bruce and I could be the ones to record his date.’

‘No, he asked if you would be there,’ said Bruce. ‘He wouldn’t even notice if I wouldn’t be there. He has a thing for you, Steve.’

‘What did you do to make him like you?’ asked Natasha. ‘To everyone else he is cold or super flirty, but when you’re around he acts normal. Don’t tell me something happened when you were filming his house.’

‘What?! Of course nothing happened!’ said Steve shocked, but at the same time the accusation made him laugh. ‘I would never do anything like that! We just had some coffee and talked a little, nothing much. I didn’t treat him different than I treat anybody else.’

‘Whatever it is, he likes you!’ answered Natasha. ‘Keep it that way, it might come in handy.’

 

~

 

'Take a seat and shut the fuck up,' said the director as his entire crew stumbled into the meeting room. 'Our millionaires have announced what they will do on their dates and I'll have to divide you into two teams. One team will go with Hammer and the other with Stark. I don't want anyone to get sick, like a certain someone last time, because they can't handle a helicopter flight.'

Everybody was grinning and looked at Clint. 

'I can handle helicopters!' cried the makeup artist. 'I ate bad lasagne the night before. It had nothing to do with the flight. I grew up in a circus for Christ's sake! I can handle it.'

'Romanoff, tell us what those rich idiots decided to do on their dates this time,' said Fury, ignoring Clint's protests.

'Justin Hammer chose to take his date to Central Park,' started Natasha. 'He will have a picnic, they will go for a stroll and afterwards he wants to take her to an expensive restaurant. They will have to change clothes half way, so we probably need the make-up truck, so they can change there.'

'That sounds like the most boring date ever!' sighed Maria Hill, camera operator, just like Steve. 'You go on a date with a millionaire and he takes you to central park! How cheap is that?'

'He believes that this normal girls don't want and don't like fancy dates,' answered Natasha.

'Sounds like he is a cheapskate,' muttered Steve.

'You'd rather go on a date with Stark anyway,' grinned Clint.

'Yes, I would,' stated the blond. 'He wasn't being difficult about filming in his house, he treated us as professionals and didn't force us to call him 'mister'. I don't like Hammer.'

'You're going with Stark anyway,' said Nick. 'He requested your presence. Where will he go?'

'Stark will pick his date up at home with a limo. They will go to the airport and will fly to Malibu in his private plane. They will take an expensive sports car to his house and have lunch on his private beach. After that they will walk over the beach to the little harbour where they will get on his yacht for a little trip on the sea. They will have a luxurious dinner on the boat before he will get her back home. If it gets too late he got her a hotel room and they will fly back the next morning.'

'Wow,' said Clint. 'I feel some differences between these dates.'

'I'd pick Stark for a date too!' confessed Bruce.

'It is not fair for the fair ladies to broadcast this and show it to the world!' said Thor, audio operator, even though he had a hard time to be quiet. He was loud with everything, completely unlike Bruce, but he was good at his job.

'It's too bad for that girl, but we're showing it anyway,' said Fury. 'You're working in the normal teams. But Team Stark will have Coulson as assistant director, since Stark thinks Romanoff and Banner are married. If they have to stay the night they will get one room and I don't want any complaints.'

'One of them could sleep in Steve's room,' grinned Clint.

'Yeah, I don't mind sharing,' smiled Steve.

'I meant that your room would be empty anyway!'

‘Clint, are you saying I will spend the night in Tony's room?' asked the cameraman. 'Just because I'm gay and I don't care about his flirting? You sound jealous!'

'All of you are terrible!' said the director, silencing them all. 'Now get your asses out of here and make me a good show!'

 

~

 

'Good morning,' yawned Tony as the elevator opened and a little film crew walked in.

'You look terrible!' greeted Clint. 'We only have half an hour and you're barely dressed! Sit down.'  
Tony sat down and looked surprised at the older man in a suit that shook his hand. He introduced himself as Phil Coulson, assistant director.

'What happened to your wife?' the billionaire asked Bruce.

'No talking!' warned Clint.

'She is on the team to film Justin Hammer,' answered the audio operator.

'Poor girl,' was all Tony could utter, before Clint made him shut up again.

The thirty minutes flew by and soon they were on their way in the limo. Such a big car was pretty useful, the crew could come along. And they did, except for Clint, who went to Justin Hammer. 

‘Since we’re travelling so much before the date actually starts,’ said Coulson, ’we will have to film a little of every part of the trip. Steve and Bruce already took care of the limo ride, but we will have to show how ring the doorbell and pick up the girl. What is her name, by the way?’

‘Eh…’ Tony tried to answer. ‘How should I know?! Evalyn? Evelena? Something like that. She told me I could call her Eva.’

‘Alright, Eva, we will film how you pick up Eva and that you two get into the car. Maybe we do some shoots inside the car, but we’ll definitely have to film your plane. Inside the plane as well, then the sports car, as you drive on the road and even part of your house. We need it as an introduction, so the viewer will understand we’re no longer in New York. We will film it when you tell Eva where she is going and we’ll use that as some sort of voice over. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, but why is there no coffee?’ asked the billionaire. ‘I really can’t do a thing without coffee. Isn’t there a Starbucks on our way?’

‘No, but there is a Dunkin’ Donuts not too far from here,’ said Steve. ‘Should I tell your driver?’

‘Fuck, Steve, you know what a guy needs. Yes, ask him to stop there, please!’ cried Tony happily. 

‘We don’t have time,’ said Coulson and he wanted to stop the cameraman, but Steve had already knocked on the little window that was shielding the driver from them.

‘Could you please stop at the Dunkin’ Donuts for a second?’ Steve asked the man behind the wheel. ‘Tony would like some coffee.’

‘We’re not stopping!’ called Coulson as he tried to pull Steve back in his seat.

‘Yes we’re stopping!’ shouted Tony from the back. ‘Happy, I need coffee. I’m going to act like a zombie the entire day if I don’t get that coffee! It’s just two minutes! Happy is an expert in getting me coffee quickly, aren’t you, buddy?’

‘Yes, sir!’ answered the driver.

‘Alright, two minutes,’ sighed Coulson.

The limo parked at the Dunkin’ Donuts and the driver got out. Exactly two minutes later the window slowly moved down again and Happy handed Steve a tray with coffee cups and a big box. ‘Breakfast,’ he explained.

‘You got coffee for everyone! Awesome!’ laughed Tony. He quickly grabbed the biggest one and took a long sip. He sighed dramatically. ‘So much better. Now gimme that box! I need food!’ 

The box contained donuts and Tony happily dug in. He moaned as he chewed on the first one, mumbled something about ‘better than sex’, and quickly finished the treat before taking a bite of a second one. He took another sip from the coffee and looked at the people in his car, staring at him.

‘Any of you want one too?’ he asked, holding out the box. It was pretty early in the morning and some of them didn’t even had breakfast yet. Steve was the only one that moved.

‘Yes please,’ he said and he took one from the box. The others of the crew were used to it that their cameraman could eat anything at any time. He always seemed to be hungry, still he was ridiculously muscled and in perfect shape.

‘Come sit here,’ Tony beckoned Steve. ‘I can’t finish all of these on my own.’ 

Steve carefully made his way through the limo and sat down next to Tony. He took another donut and finished his coffee. He even finished a third and a fourth one before they arrived at Eva’s house.

‘How can you eat that much without getting fat?’ asked Tony jealous as het got out of the car after Steve and had a good view on his ass. ‘I do that and I have to go to the gym for hours to get in shape again! It’s not fair!’

‘I work out too, you know,’ said Steve. ‘At least three times a week and I’m running around with a camera five days a week. That helps too.’

‘Enough chatting, ladies,’ said Coulson. ‘We have work to do. Steve, get your camera ready, I’ll check if miss Eva is ready.’

She was ready, so everyone went to his starting position and they filmed how Tony rang the doorbell and Eva opened the door, greeted him and joined him in the limo. The crew packed their things and got in the car as well. They filmed shortly how the couple laughed together in the limo. The moment the camera went off Tony started to chat with the crew again. Eva didn’t seem to like it too much, but kept quiet. 

At the airport they got out. The private plane was already waiting. Tony focused on the girl again and gave her all his attention. He helped her on the stairs and gave her a little tour through the plane. She got the best place available and the crew made sure they got everything taped. They all found themselves a seat as they took off. A little while later they landed again. In California it was a bit warmer and none of them minded that at all.

Steve grabbed whatever he needed to protect the camera lens from the blinding sunlight before he filmed Eva and Tony getting in a beautiful sports car and went off. There was a van waiting for the crew. They thought they would have a hard time keeping up, but it seemed that Coulson was a great driver and he managed to find his way through the traffic and still kept the car still enough for Steve to make some shots.

When they finally arrived at the house Tony didn’t let them in, just waved at it, told them it was his second house and he loved to spend time there when the winters were too cold in New York. Steve filmed a little of it and Bruce tried to record the few things the billionaire told about the place. 

Then the date could finally start for real. Tony led them past the house and there was a beautiful beach waiting for them. The billionaire took off his jacket and pulled off his tie. It was way too warm for such formal clothing. He took Eva to the beach and there was a picnic cloth waiting for them and a basket filled with cutlery and food. It looked perfect and Eva smiled widely.

‘Wow, you really prepared everything perfectly!’ she said happily as she sat down. 

‘Of course,’ answered Tony as he took a bottle of wine from the basket and poured her a glass. ‘Only the best is good enough for a beautiful lady like you.’

He poured himself a glass as well, but he hardly drank any of it. They just sat there and talked about their jobs and their dreams for the future. Soon Tony took out the plates and the food and let Eva pick whatever she liked to eat. There were a lot of different things to choose from and everything was simple to eat, even while you would have to hold your plate.

Not everything was filmed and when Coulson told Steve and Bruce it was enough they put their stuff down. Bruce rolled up his sleeves and Steve took off his shirt. He was wearing a short sleeved shirt underneath. Tony whistled and grinned at him, Steve just smiled and shook his head.

‘If you guys want any of the food, just get it,’ said the billionaire. ‘I’m done eating, are you too?’ 

‘Yeah, I’m done too,’ said Eva and she pushed the basket towards the men, hoping they wouldn’t come and sit with them. They didn’t, but that didn’t mean Tony couldn’t talk to them. He tried to pull them into their conversation and soon all of them were talking together.

It was then that Tony found out Bruce spoke science. The audio man was a doctor and had done a lot of research on gamma radiation in his life, even published a few articles. But after an incident he stopped researching and started teaching. It didn't last long. The usually calm man didn't have the temper to teach. He wanted a nice and quiet job and ended up in this little film crew.

Tony was ecstatic. He didn't often meet people with brains like his own and he invited Bruce to come over to his lab one day, to play with some toys. He said his workrooms here were interesting, but in New York he had several floors with the newest gadgets and everything. Soon Steve didn't understand a word anymore of what they were saying. It was like they were talking in a different language.

Eva seemed to think the same. She got up and sat down next to Steve. She bend forward a little and smiled.

'I have no idea what they are talking about. You're a cameraman, you probably don't have a clue either.'  
Steve frowned at that. It did sound like an insult, but he didn't mention it.

'Not really, no,' he answered. 'I'm more into art than science. Not that I always understand art, but it's easier than science.'

'Oh, you're an artist!' she smiled. 'Do you paint? Do you do portraits? If you do you must paint me sometime! I don't do naked, but just underwear is fine.'

'I don't paint,' said Steve confused.

'You can stop trying,' Coulson grinned. 'He is not going to respond to your flirting, he is gay.'

'You were flirting with me?' asked Steve.

'You were flirting with Steve?' asked Tony at the same time. He started laughing. 'Oh that's precious! I thought women had a gaydar!'

'I could have known, all good men are gay.'

Tony grinned widely. 'That was mean, but I deserved it. Once I start talking science I can't stop. I'll pay more attention to you now, sweetheart. Let's go for a walk on the beach and let these guys do their job! I would always chose a beautiful lady like you over a bunch of ugly men.'

He took her hand and helped her up. They walked towards the sea and from there they made their way to the little harbour. Tony kept her entertained and she was laughing at his jokes. He did everything to make it up to her.

Eva loved his yacht and was happy to hear they were going to make a trip. They enjoyed the weather with another glass of wine. Eva didn't notice that Tony emptied his glass in the sea.  
They talked until a butler came to tell them dinner was ready. They stopped the boat and sat down at the table. They were served by the butler who brought them champagne. Dinner was lovely and luxurious and lasted for hours.

It was getting darker when Tony decided it was time to go. The boat sailed back to the harbour and the sports car and the van were waiting for them there. The billionaire drove Eva to the hotel. He already made reservations, so she got the key when he told the receptionist his name.

Eva stepped forward to kiss him, but Tony only kissed her hand. He said he had a lovely day and that he would pick her up in the morning. He said goodbye and walked out. The crew was already packing and heavily discussing something.

'I don't have the money,' said Steve. 'I just can't afford it.'

'What can't you afford?' asked Tony curiously.

'To stay in this hotel,' answered the blond. 'Do you know a cheap place to stay?'

'Fuck yes, villa Stark! You're not going to spend the night in a hotel while I have plenty of rooms in my house. Get the hell into the car.'

Steve tried to get into the van, but Tony grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. ‘What about you get in my car?’ he smirked.

Steve looked at Bruce. ‘Sure, go! You love motor bikes and cars and stuff, so go. Have fun.’

‘Why do you have to ask permission, you’re not underage!’ laughed Tony, but he suddenly stopped. ‘You’re not, are you?’

This time Steve laughed. ‘Are you kidding me? I’m thirty-one!’

‘Thirty-one?!’ gaped Tony. It was a good thing they weren’t driving yet, because the billionaire was eyeing Steve for a minute. ‘Are you sure you don’t miscounted?’ he asked. ‘Fuck, you look like twenty-five or something. I’ve been holding back because I thought you were still an innocent young boy, but you’re a man! A full grown man. You really get better every time I see you. What surprise will you have for me tomorrow?’

He started to car and took off, since Phil and Bruce had already left and he didn’t want to keep them waiting. Steve thought about the question for a few moments.

‘I don’t know, I used to be in the army, that surprises a lot of people.’

‘Okay, that is surprising,’ answered Tony. ‘But I don’t like the army very much and the army doesn’t like me very much. You know, since I stopped making weapons. They kept asking if I really couldn’t make an exception and offered me more and more money. They made me sick. But those were your bosses, not you! And you were a smart man, leaving the army, but keeping the muscles!’

‘Yeah, at least I got something out of it.’

‘No, no, no, no, no! Don’t say sad things!’ said Tony. ‘Now your smile is gone and I love that smile. I want everyone on this road to think I kidnapped an angel, but I need that smile to make them believe it!’

Steve couldn’t help, but laugh at that. ‘You’re an idiot.’

‘I know, but it worked,’ grinned the dark-haired man. ‘So, can you tell me why the army made you sad, without losing that brilliant smile?’

‘Short story,’ answered Steve. ‘They kicked me out.’

‘Why? Too old, too young? Too strong, too weak? Too good, too bad?’

‘Too gay.’

‘They still kick you out of the army for being gay?!’ Tony asked. ‘I thought they changed!’

‘They changed,’ answered Steve. ‘But that was a few years after I was kicked out. Not that I care, I’m really happy with my job now. I can be creative and I get to meet a lot of interesting people.’

‘Like me,’ laughed Tony as he parked the car in front of the house. He had driven so fast that they had arrived before Phil and Bruce. They waited for the van to arrive and Steve helped the others to unpack. They didn’t want to leave anything in the car, so they brought it all inside. A butler showed them their rooms. The crew got some food, since they hadn’t had much before and when they finished it they joined Tony in the living room with a beer.

Tony and Bruce immediately started talking about science again, so Phil asked Steve about art. Steve thought that the assistant director always seemed a little bit too interested in him, but maybe it was his way of being nice. Somehow he never noticed Phil acting like this towards Bruce, Maria or Thor. Steve just ignored it, Phil was a nice man.

At eleven Bruce stood up. ‘I’m going to bed,’ he announced. ‘It was a long day and we’ll have to get up early again tomorrow.’ 

Phil followed his example and got up as well. ‘You should go to bed too, Steve,’ he said before he followed the audio engineer.

‘Almost finished my beer,’ smiled the blond. ‘I’ll be up in a minute.’

‘That was the worst excuse ever,’ stated Tony as the two others had left the room. ‘You just wanted to be alone with me and cuddle on the couch! Admit it! Admit it!’

Steve held up his bottle. ‘It wasn’t an excuse,’ he said as he pointed where the beer reached. He took another sip. ‘But I can hurry up, so you can go to bed too.’

‘Nooooooo!’ was the reply and the billionaire almost launched himself over Steve’s legs. ‘I want to show you something.’

He got up from the couch and pulled Steve up as well. He took him to the balcony and asked if the lights could be turned off. Steve was surprised that the house listened to him and the lights did turn off, but he was even more surprised to see the millions of stars in the dark night sky.

‘Wow, you never get to see that in New York,’ he whispered. ‘It’s beautiful!’

‘Yeah,’ answered Tony. ‘I’m not too interested in stars and planets, but I do like this view. And it creates a nice and romantic atmosphere, don’t you think.’ He took a step closer.

Steve blushed. ‘No, Tony, I can’t,’ he said softly. ‘We shouldn’t.’

‘Okay, well, of course, sorry, I thought you were interested in me too, but, yeah, I’m off to bed.’

‘No, I’m sorry, Tony, I didn’t mean it like that,’ apologized Steve as he grabbed the billionaire’s arm.

Tony turned to look at him. ‘Then what did you mean with that ‘no’?’

‘We’re working together, it will be awkward,’ mumbled the blond. ‘You’re dating Eva and we’ll have to film a lot more of you and her and you and Patti talking about it. Patti will kill me if she finds out. You know she isn’t the nicest person to be around, but she will see it as cheating on Eva and cheating on her and I might lose my job. I can’t risk that.’

‘I….’ started Tony with a frown. ‘I think I understand. But does that mean you are interested?’

‘I might be,’ answered Steve, but his blush betrayed him.

Tony grinned widely. ‘You are! But I don’t want you to lose your job. I could help you to get a new job, but you like your colleagues and all and I don’t want to interfere with that. And I agree it might be awkward if I will have to act all nice and cosy with Eva when I’m actually only thinking about you. Although, I did that today too, I blame that tight shirt. So, can we do a kiss and then act like friends again until this whole damned show is over?’

‘You wouldn’t even kiss Eva after you picked her from a huge group of girls and after you had an amazing date with her, but you do want to kiss me.’

‘I could tell you a very long story about the difference sexual attraction and being nice to a lady that you’re forced to go on a date with, but I much rather just kiss you,’ answered Tony and before Steve could do something the billionaire pressed their lips together.

It was only a short kiss and he didn’t even used his tongue, but Tony liked it and he looked forward to more. 

‘The moment this show is over you and I are going on a date, because you might be a traditional man, but I want more of that. You better be prepared! Goodnight!’ 

With that said he walked back into the house and went to his bedroom. Steve touched his lips, smiled and returned to his own bedroom.

 

~

 

The next morning all four men sat at the kitchen table for breakfast. Phil was showered and fully dressed, but the others were still wearing pyjama pants and lose shirts as they ate some toast and, in Tony’s case, drank coffee. None of them spoke. Bruce was reading the paper, Tony was still half asleep with his eyes closed and Steve yawned.

‘Did you go to bed late yesterday?’ Phil asked him.

‘Not really, only a little after you left,’ answered Steve before he yawned again. ‘But I couldn’t really fall asleep.’

Tony opened one eye and grinned at him. ‘Were you all excited and frustrated while thinking about me?’ he joked.

‘Yeah, it was so bad that I almost went to your room to ask you for help,’ said Steve in a serious tone. Phil frowned at his words, Tony laughed.

‘I have that effect on a lot of people.’

‘I think the three of you should get dressed,’ said Phil. ‘We should be at the hotel within an hour.’

‘Right, I’m done anyway,’ said Steve as he got up and went to his room. Bruce followed and went to the bathroom.

‘Do I sense a little jealousy?’ Tony asked. ‘You don’t like it when Steve is flirting back with me? If you want him for yourself you have to hurry up, or I’ll steal him away!’

‘I do not want Steve for myself,’ sighed Phil. ‘He had nothing, he had nobody when he quit the army. I helped him out. I’m not saying I’m like a parent to him, but I do want the best for him and I don’t think you are the best.’

‘Straight forward,’ answered Tony. ‘But I think it’s up to Steve if I’m good for him. He is thirty-one for God’s sake, he can make his own decisions. I think I better go and get dressed now. We wouldn’t want to be late to pick up the lovely Eva, do we?’

Tony walked out of the room, a little pissed. He had changed, he was still changing, but there were always people that thought he wouldn’t be good enough for anything or anyone. He was used to it, but that didn’t make it feel any better. He quickly showered, got himself dressed in a bit more casual clothes than yesterday, but still neat, this was going to be on television. When he was done the others were already waiting for him.

‘I’m ready, let’s go!’ he said and he walked outside.

The three others followed him and put all their stuff back in the van. Tony once again jumped in his sports car, a different one than yesterday, and wanted to drive away, but Steve called his name. The blond leaned forward, leaning with his arms on the door of the convertible. 

‘I’m not allowed to join you today?’ he asked. ‘Are you angry about what happened last night?’

‘Why would I be angry about yesterday?’ Tony asked, one eyebrow raised. ‘You promised me a date in the near future, that is more than I could have hoped for. It’s your mister overly neat over there that pissed me off.’

‘Phil?’ Steve asked. ‘What happened? He is a bit tight with rules and everything, but he is normally a kind man. Did you say something to make him angry?’

‘Get in the car, we’ll talk on our way to the hotel,’ answered Tony. When they drove off he started talking again. ‘He didn’t look too happy when I flirted with you during breakfast this morning. I asked if he was jealous and he said he has been taking care of you for a while now and that he wants the best for you.’

‘Oh, I understand now,’ laughed Steve. ‘You’re not the kind of man he likes to see me with! You better show him that you’re worthy of me, because he is the closest thing to a parent that I have! No, just kidding, he has been a very good friend and things have been pretty shitty, so he doesn’t like to see me sad again.’

‘Does he do that to all your potential boyfriends?’ the billionaire answered. ‘Because you’re going to end up very lonely if he keeps that up.’

‘No, he actually approved some of them,’ grinned the blond. ‘But you’re a flirty playboy that has a very bad influence on me and I fall for your trap and end up crying in my room, because you betrayed me. I can’t take care of myself. I mean, look at me, I’m the typical Mary-Sue character, am I not? I’m the beauty, you’re the beast.’

Tony laughed. ‘Yeah, whatever! I might be a beast in bed, but you are absolutely not a cute and innocent creature. I’m sure that if someone would betray you, you would use those muscles and punch the teeth out of their mouths!’

‘I like it better when you smile too.’

Tony stopped laughing and looked at the blond next to him. ‘You’re cheering me up. Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome,’ said Steve while Tony parked the car.

The van parked a bit further away and Steve went to get his camera. Bruce grabbed his microphones and Phil went to check if Eva was ready. She was already waiting for them in the hall. Phil gave her and Tony instructions and soon they were filming how the two greeted each other and left the hotel. They got in the car and drove back to the airport.

Tony didn’t pay much attention to the crew anymore. He knew it was his job to keep the lady happy until she was home, so he stayed with her during the flight and also in the car back to her apartment. Once again the two had to say goodbye. This time she wasn’t shy about it and asked him for a kiss. The confusion on Tony’s face was not a pretty thing, so Phil called ‘cut’.

‘What was that about?’ he asked. ‘You’re making a seriously ugly face when she just asks for a kiss. Do it again, but better this time. No ugly faces. Steve, do you think you can use the question she asked? Do you think you can cut it and add a new reaction from our millionaire without making it look awkward?’

‘Yeah, I think I can,’ answered Steve. ‘And if it does look awkward I will cut it out.’ He looked at Tony and Tony glared back. ‘But if you tell me what kind of kiss you are planning I can adjust the angle of the camera.’

‘On the cheek,’ answered the billionaire immediately.

‘Oh, whatever!’ said Eva. ‘Just cut that part already. If you so desperately not want to kiss me you don’t have to! But I enjoyed our date and I thought you did too. You keep telling me you have changed, Patti told me you have changed, but nobody told me you turned into a prude! I thought you were fun and exciting, but you are boring and selfish!’

Tony put on his sunglasses and turned around. ‘I hope you guys filmed enough, because I’m going home. This almost cost me two days. Time is money, I lost millions because of two wasted days. I’ll be working if you need me.’

He got in his car and told the driver to get them out of there. The crew was flabbergasted and watched him go. Eva walked into her apartment and slammed the door shut behind her without another word.

‘Okay,’ said Bruce. ‘That was unexpected.’

‘We’re leaving,’ announced Phil and the three of them returned to the studios.

 

~

 

Sometimes Steve hated his job. He was sitting in Eva’s living room, next to Bruce, and he had watched Patti and Eva argue for at least half an hour by now. At first the two women had agreed that Tony was an ass and that he obviously didn’t take this seriously. If he had truly been interested he would have kissed her without problems. But then Patti had started talking business. She had seen the things Steve and Bruce had put together from the date and everything looked happy and perfect. It looked like they had the time of their life and like they were the perfect match. Eva would have to tell about her date now and it would be strange if she would complain after such a wonderful date.

But Eva didn’t agree with her. She said they should just add the footage of their goodbyes where Tony pulled a weird face at her request to kiss her. If they would add that nobody would be surprised if she would complain. Patti argued that she didn’t want her show to look bad and that people started to think it was all set up and none of it was actually real. Eva didn’t want to hear it. She didn’t care about the popularity of the show, she only cared about Tony being an asshole and people that tried to protect him.

‘We’re not protecting him,’ said Bruce suddenly. Things like this were exactly the reason he stopped teaching. He couldn’t handle it at all. He hated fights. ‘We can’t use the footage of the fight, because Phil is talking through it. The people know a film crew is around all the time, but they’re not supposed to hear or see us.’

‘Then just keep the sound away and use a voice over to explain what happened!’ hissed Eva. ‘I’m sure you will find a solution for it. You guys can edit everything and anything, but you can’t fix something like this?!’

‘We can’t use the video material either,’ backed Steve his colleague up. ‘When Phil started talking, Bruce stepped forward so he could record what you and Tony were saying. He stepped in view of the camera. If it was just his microphone I could probably edit it, but you can see him. It’s too much. The viewers will be confused about what is going on.’

‘And it will look like Tony is forced to kiss you, while he tried to be a gentleman and not kiss you. We haven’t been able to contact him yet, but he didn’t want to lead you on,’ continued Bruce. ‘Wouldn’t it have been worse if he had kissed you, made the whole world believe he was into you and then never call again? I’m sure you would be even more pissed if he had done that.’

‘At least I could have talked about that with Patti and the world would have known he was an asshole. The world could have seen he hadn’t changed one bit and not a single person would have been interested in him again.’

‘I doubt that,’ answered Steve. ‘There are always people who will fall for people like him and give him a second chance. You’re not ruining his life if we would show this on television, but I’m sure there would be people who think of you as the bad guy, because you wanted to force him to kiss you. So for your own sake, just say things didn’t work out between the two of you. Tell it’s you who didn’t want him if you would like that better, but please let’s just get this over with.’

‘Alright,’ she said. ‘If I can tell it was me who didn’t want him I’ll act positive about the date. But don’t let him tell otherwise. Let him agree with it!’

‘Sure!’ said Patti, but both Steve and Bruce could hear she was going to do whatever she wanted anyway.

At that moment Natasha walked in. It was like she had sensed that the fights was over and they were ready to get to work. Things would probably have been dealt with sooner if she had helped out, but people would have ended up unhappy and angry. Not something they needed right now.

‘I hope you worked things out,’ she said. ‘Because we have to get started right now, we don’t have much time. Steve, Bruce, I hope you are ready. Patti, please come walking to the table, shake her hand and sit down. You know what else you have to do. Okay, take your positions and get ready.’

They all got ready and soon Patti and Eva were chatting with each other like they had never been fighting. Patti asked how Eva had liked it and Eva explained that the date had been awesome and that Tony had tried his very best and gave her everything a girl could wish for on a date.

‘I hear a ‘but’ coming,’ said Patti. ‘Did something go wrong?’

Eva explained that she had loved it and that Tony had treated her like a queen, but he just wasn’t her type. Too smooth, too sarcastic. It was just a strange combination and she didn’t like it. So when he had called her the next day she had said it would have been their last date and that she had liked it, but she didn’t want to continue. She said Tony had been devastated, but he had understood.

In his head Steve already selected the parts that he would cut. He didn’t like all the bad talking about Tony and he hated the lies, but he couldn’t speak up. He was glad when they were finally done. They probably would never have to see Eva again.

‘So, do we have to go over to Tony now?’ Steve asked when they had packed and were on their way to the car. ‘Or did you make another appointment with him?’

‘No, we’re going back,’ said Natasha. ‘You will have to take Stanger and join Thor and Phil at Hammer’s place. Pick up Clint on your way.’

‘Why do I have to move teams?’ he asked surprised.

‘Not my decision,’ answered Natasha. ‘I’d rather have you on my team than Hill, but it was an order from Fury. I think Phil talked to him and wanted you out of the team. I don’t know what happened at Stark’s house, but he is obviously not happy about it.’

Steve sighed. ‘Nothing happened. Tony was just flirting, like he does with everyone. I ignored it, but once I gave him a flirt in return, to see if it would stop him, and Phil heard it. The moment I left the room he told Tony he wants the best for me and that Tony is not the best. Tony was pissed, of course he was. He wanted to leave with his car, alone, so I stopped him and asked if he wanted me to join him. I didn’t want him to be grumpy when we would pick up Eva. Phil probably didn’t like it.’

‘Coulson is very protective of you,’ said Natasha. ‘A bit too much. But you helped me out with Stark’s flirting, so I’ll see what I can do for you.’

‘Thanks Nat,’ smiled Steve. Then he went to get Patti, so they could pick up Clint and go to Justin Hammer’s place.

When they arrived they were immediately scolded for being late by the millionaire himself. He said he didn’t have all the time in the world and that he had work to do. Clint tried to make him shut up by saying it would all go a lot quicker if he wasn’t talking, but Justin didn’t seem to care. Everyone was working and preparing things without speaking. Even Thor, who normally loved to chat while working, didn’t say a word.

Steve ignored Phil. The man tried to ask him something, but Steve said he was busy and that they could talk later. He used the excuse that he wanted to get away from Hammer as soon as he could.

The moment Justin was done, he and Patti sat down. Phil briefly told them what he wanted them to do and what they should talk about before they started. The annoyed look on Hammer’s face changed the moment the camera turned on. He smiled at Patti, said he was happy to see her and described that he had the most perfect date ever. Even when Patti told him that the girl hadn’t liked it much, he still acted like everything was perfect.

‘Did you call her the day after the date?’ Patti asked.

‘Yes I did, several times,’ answered Justin. ‘But she didn’t pick up. I think she was busy. She has a busy job, so do I, so I understand. I’ll try again in the afternoon. Maybe we can go on another date next weekend.’

‘I talked to her and she said you called her about twenty times in three hours,’ answered the hostess. ‘She wasn’t working that day, but she didn’t want to talk to you and that is why she didn’t pick up the phone. She didn’t like the date, it was boring and you were a cheapskate. You wanted to kiss her, while she didn’t want it and she had a hard time to get rid of you. I warned you Justin! I told you what to do and what not to do, but you didn’t listen. It’s your own fault this didn’t work out.’

‘I did listen to you! I was being nice to her, I didn’t want to go too fast, I didn’t go too slow either, I did everything you told me. I was just unlucky. I’ll just try again with another girl and hope I will have more luck next time! Maybe we can do a new mixer, with some other girls, and maybe not another millionaire!’

‘No!’ said Patti resolutely. ‘No, you’re not coming over again! We gave you a chance and you screwed up. If you had listened to me you would have done a lot better, but you didn’t want to spend money on a date if it wouldn’t lead anywhere and I don’t like cheap people, especially if they’re millionaires. You’re not getting back to the club.’

‘Why not?!’ asked Hammer angry. His smile was gone by now. ‘You put me next to Stark! Of course Stark will do anything to keep the ladies away from me! I didn’t have a chance to start with! And now you’re kicking me out of the club?! You should give me a second chance! Yes, I didn’t spend much time and money on the date, because I knew she wasn’t the one for me! She is a bikini model for God’s sake! I own a company, I’m the brain behind my company! I’m not getting together with a bikini model. Give her to Stark, I’m sure he will enjoy it!’

He pushed the table aside, stood up and walked away. ‘I don’t want to see you again and I don’t want to hear from you again! You will not broadcast whatever you filmed of me or I’ll sue you!’

‘You signed a contract!’ shouted Patti at him. ‘You’re not getting away with this! We’re showing the whole world what a shitty person you are!

‘Get the hell out of my house!’ yelled Hammer back before disappeared into another room and slammed the door behind him. 

‘He was not pleased,’ said Thor after a minute where nobody knew what to say.

‘Did you record that?’ asked Patti. ‘Tell me you got everything on tape. We’re going to show it all on television. He is going down! He broke my rules, he is an asshole and the whole world will know.’

‘I got everything,’ said Steve. 

‘Okay, good job,’ said Phil. ‘We’ll make sure that parts of that will be shown. Let’s just leave now. We’ll contact him again when we are done with the whole episode and we’re ready to show it to him. We don’t need him anymore anytime soon.’

The crew packed their stuff and Patti took one of the cars to go back on her own. Their car was small and it barely fit. While they pushed all the material in the trunk of the car Phil approached Steve again.

‘Steve, could…’

‘No,’ answered the camera operator. ‘You took me out of my team. You didn’t want me to be around Tony, so you took me out of the team! He is my friend, Phil. He liked having me around, because I was the only one that treated him like a normal person. The director tells us to treat him like a king, but he doesn’t want to be treated like a king.’

‘He and Bruce got along pretty fine,’ answered the assistant director. ‘I’m sure Bruce treats him like a normal person as well, so don’t worry about that.’

‘Then why is Bruce still on that team?’ asked Steve. ‘I get along with Tony, Bruce gets along with Tony, what is the difference? Why did I have to leave?’

‘Because he wanted more from you,’ said Phil. ‘I couldn’t let that happen. He completely ignored miss Eva to spend time with you.’

‘So what?’ asked Steve. ‘I’m perfectly capable of saying ‘no’ when I have to.’

‘But…’

‘No!’ said Steve, angry this time and he sat down in the back of the car and waited until they would finally leave.

 

~

 

Just like the first time they met, Natasha felt like strangling Tony Stark. Patti was trying to talk to him about his date with Eva, but he was hardly responding. He acted like a stubborn child and only gave her short, annoying and sarcastic answers. She could see Patti was ready to kick his ass as well.

‘Mister Stark, could you please cooperate?’ she asked. ‘This is one of the last parts we have to do, it’s almost over and then we won’t bother you anymore. Within half an hour we could be done.’

Tony looked at her through his expensive sunglasses. He had refused to take them off. ‘First you don’t bring Steve, but some ugly woman who keep glaring at me and then you tell me that Eva wants everyone to think that she was the one who didn’t want to continue our dating thing, while she was the one who was desperate for a kiss. I’m not going to look like some fucking dumb-ass poor boy who gets dumped by an idiot like her. So either you make sure that you show the world that she wanted me to sweep her off her feet or I’m not going to give you any proper answers anymore.’

Now all three ladies in the room pissed at him and Bruce could feel the tension rise. He wished they hadn’t been so stupid to take Steve off the team. The man knew how to deal with Tony and he could turn everything into something positive.

‘Can’t you just say it was a good thing she didn’t want this to continue, because you didn’t know how to tell her or something?’ he said. ‘You didn’t want to hurt her feelings and you were being nice to her and the viewers will still feel sympathy for you.’

Tony pulled down his sunglasses a little. ‘Brucey, I knew there was a reason I liked you too. If you weren’t married to this killing machine I would totally hit on you.’

‘But, they are not married,’ said Maria surprised.

The billionaire frowned, Natasha sighed and Bruce shook his head.

‘What are you talking about?’ asked Tony.

‘Steve lied to you,’ answered Natasha. ‘To protect me. Or probably to protect you. He knows how angry I can get when people are flirting with me. You’re not the first guy on this show who tried. I once kicked a millionaire in the balls for it. Now whenever it happens again Steve tells them I’m married to Bruce.’

‘And still you decided to kick Steve out of your team and have that witch take his place,’ answered Tony. ‘Now isn’t that just great? Let’s just hurry up. I don’t feel like doing this anymore.’

Tony put on his smile, answered all the questions that needed to be answered, he even explained that it was a good thing Eva didn’t want him, because he had the feeling they wouldn’t work out to begin with. The moment the camera stopped he stood up and walked away without saying another word.

 

~

 

‘What is going on?!’ asked Nick Fury angry. The entire crew that was filming the Millionaire Matchmaker sat at the big table. ‘Can anybody tell me what the fuck is going on?’

‘Nothing,’ said Natasha.

‘Nothing?! I got one extremely angry millionaire, one pissed off billionaire, two dates that don’t want to have anything to do with us anymore, Stanger is furious, Hill is angry, Phil is sulking, Rogers hasn’t said a word the entire day, Banner is trying to apologize for all of them and you’re not any better, Romanoff,’ said the Director. ‘What is going on?’

‘Eva was pissed, because Tony didn’t want to kiss her and she thought she would look bad on television,’ answered Bruce.

‘Mister Hammer was furious, because his girl didn’t like him,’ said Thor. ‘And miss Stanger put the blame on him. He put the blame on her.’

‘Steve is moping, because I made him change teams,’ said Phil.

‘Phil is upset, because I’m capable of making friends that he doesn’t like,’ answered Steve.

‘Stark wasn’t cooperating, because Steve was removed from his team,’ said Natasha while looking at Phil. 

‘So he decided to insult me as much as possible in the time we were filming,’ answered Maria.

‘And all of that is pissing you off, Romanoff?’ asked Fury. ‘You’re all a big bunch of baby girls! Get fucking over it already and do your damn jobs! That is what I’m paying you for! Now get your asses out of here and make sure I get the best episode we have made so far. And if I hear one more person crying over something stupid and small, I’ll give you something to complain about.’

The entire crew stood up and walked out of the room.

‘Bruce, help me with looking through the footage?’ Steve asked his audio engineer. ‘Nat, do you have time to come too? We need someone who can decide what will be shown.’

‘Yes,’ answered the redhead. ‘If you guys don’t mind meeting up with Stanger for the last few scenes?’ she asked the other team.

Phil said he didn’t mind and took his team back to the Millionaire’s Club while Natasha and her group moved to one of the work rooms to put things together.

 

~

 

About a week after they shot the last scenes the two millionaires were invited to come over to the studios to watch their episode. The entire crew was worried, Stark and Hammer hadn’t been the easiest to work with and they were both picky. Patti normally joined them, but she didn’t want to see these two anymore, so the crew decided that if anything was wrong with the episode, they would blame Patti for it. Another unique things was that director Fury was around. Normally he didn’t bother to show up to things like this, but he was afraid things would get out of hand and the intimidating man was probably the only one who could hold these millionaires in check.

When an expensive car was parked in front of the door it was neither Tony or Justin that got out, but a strawberry blond woman on insane heels. Natasha went to greet her.

‘I’m Pepper Potts,’ said the woman.

‘Mister Stark told us about you, aren’t you his personal assistant?’ asked Natasha.

The sound of a car door closing made them both turn their heads. Tony had crawled out of the car. His hair was a mess, he was wearing huge sunglasses and his mouth was a thin line. His suit was wrinkled and his tie was all over the place. Pepper sighed when she saw him.

‘I’m the CEO of his company, but yeah, occasionally I’m also his personal assistant, or maybe babysitter is a better word. I have to warn you, he has been in a terrible mood for days and nothing seem to cheer him up. He hasn’t said a word yet today either, so I decided to come over and see the what you have made of the episode. At the moment he won’t care what the world will think of him.’

‘I see,’ answered Natasha. ‘Well, please come in. We’re still waiting for mister Hammer, but then we will start.’ She brought the two to a room with a big television and comfortable chairs. She offered them coffee. They treated Tony carefully, making sure not to piss him off any further. They treated him like a king, like they were supposed to.

It was ten minutes later that Justin Hammer walked into the room. The moment he noticed his rival he shouted a loud ‘serious?!’. It made director Fury show up, followed shortly by Phil Coulson. They tried to calm the millionaire down, but he refused to sit in a room with Tony Stark.

‘Sir, we will need your permission to broadcast this, so if you would please sit down now you can leave in about forty-five minutes. No more than that!’ said the director.

‘Where do I sign?’ he asked. ‘I don’t care what people will think of the video, I’m not staying in the same room as Stark. I’ll just sign your papers, excellent video, perfect, well done, I’m out of here!’

Natasha gave him a few papers and showed him where to sign. The millionaire quickly scribbled down his name on every page and marched out of the room without saying another word. For a few seconds there was a smirk on Tony’s face. Annoying the hell out of Hammer always made him happy, but almost immediately it was gone again.

‘If he is not going to join us we can start,’ said Phil. He dimmed the lights and started the video. There was an opening where Patti and her staff were talking about some personal things, like their own weddings, before they watched the videos of the millionaires. Patti decided she wanted to help both of them. The parts where she visited them at home were shown next and then Patti called in different girls and selected a few. She also explained why she only picked girls for Tony.

Next was the part where the millionaires met the girls and picked two. It was shortly shown how they got to know each other better before one of the girls was chosen. Then of course there was the date. Everything looked perfect and sweet, especially compared to the date of Justin Hammer, where the girl looked obviously annoyed. The girls gave their opinion about the date and Patti talked with the millionaires about it. A big part of the fight between Justin and Patti was shown. Neither of the millionaires got a second date, so it ended with Patti saying how sad it was it didn’t work out between Tony and Eva, because they were perfect for each other and that Hammer was just an ass and that he would never find true love if he kept behaving like that.

The video wasn’t bad at all for Tony. He came out looking a lot better than Justin Hammer or either of the two girls. But even that didn’t seem to cheer him up. When the lights were turned on again he was still looking grumpy. Nobody said a word for a few moments, but then Pepper turned to the director and his assistants.

‘That looked good,’ she said. ‘I don’t think anything has to be changed. It gave a very positive view on Tony and the way he treats women.’

She wanted to say more, but stopped when the door was opened and Steve walked in. Tony looked up and removed his sunglasses. 

‘My God, Tony you look terrible!’ said the camera operator. ‘What is wrong with you? Are you sick? You look so pale!’ 

He approached the billionaire and put his hand on his forehead. It didn’t feel particularly hot, so it wasn’t a fever. Steve crouched down next to Tony to look at him.

‘You don’t have a fever,’ he mumbled. ‘When was the last time you slept?’

‘Didn’t really sleep for two nights,’ answered Tony.

The four others in the room looked at each other. None of them had managed to make the billionaire speak, but Steve walked in and within a minute he was telling him what was wrong.

‘Two nights?!’ asked Steve shocked. ‘You didn’t sleep at all? No wonder you look like hell.’

‘I might have slept an hour or two,’ answered Tony.

‘That isn’t enough,’ stated Steve. ‘You’re going home now and you’re going to sleep. You can’t drive like this. Is your driver here? If he is not I’m going to take you back myself. You’ll crash the car if you get behind the wheel like this. Did you eat?’

‘I remember a pizza,’ grinned the billionaire.

Steve smiled. ‘I could have known. We’re going to get you some healthy food first, if you can keep your eyes open until then. Don’t want you to fall with your face in your food.’

‘You made me look good in the video.’

Steve blinked a few times and then smiled again. ‘I tried my best. It wasn’t very hard to make you look good next to Hammer, but I might have cut some things that Eva said about you. She wasn’t being fair after all the things you had done for her.’

‘I wasn’t being fair either,’ sighed Tony. ‘I could have told her sooner I wasn’t interested in her, but I thought she knew as well that this whole show was fake. Who believes in something like that? But it’s all over now.’

Suddenly his face lightened up. ‘It’s all over. The video is done, everything is done. All I have to do is sign the papers and it will be over! Quick, gimme the papers!’

Nobody really understood what was going on, but Natasha took the papers and handed them to Tony. The man grabbed a pen and quickly signed all the papers before handing them back.

‘It’s over!’ he said happily to Steve. ‘You know what that means!’

‘I do,’ smiled Steve.

Tony couldn’t stop himself anymore. He wrapped his arms around Steve’s shoulders and pressed their lips together in a heated kiss. The camera operator took hold of Tony’s shoulders and kissed back.

Phil’s eyebrows almost reached his hairline, Nick was frowning and Natasha was grinning. Pepper was almost as shocked as Phil. She had seen her boss do insane things, but this was something completely unexpected. When the couple didn’t separate quickly enough Fury coughed to get their attention. Both men looked up. Steve was blushing, Tony was grinning.

‘I don’t know what is going on, but we are done here,’ said Nick. ‘Stark, you can go home and I suggest you get some sleep. Rogers, why are you here in the first place? I’m sure you have work to do.’

Steve stood up. ‘Yes, I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘But someone has to drive Tony home. He can’t drive himself, it would be irresponsible, sir.’

‘I’ll take care of that,’ said Pepper as she stood up. She shook Steve’s hand. ‘Pepper Potts, CEO of Tony’s company. Since he was acting like a zombie for a few days already I decided to get him here, so I’ll make sure he’ll get back home safely as well. I think I will have to thank you for cheering him up, mister Rogers. If I had known it would be that easy I would have brought him over sooner.’

‘Steve,’ he said. ‘You can call me Steve. And thank you for taking care of him.’ 

‘No problem,’ she smiled. ‘I’m used to it. Come on Tony, let’s go.’

‘No,’ answered the billionaire as he took his phone from his pocket. ‘Steve, give me your number. Text me your address, I’ll pick you up Friday night and we can finally go on that date. Don’t expect anything like Eva got from me, I’m going to give you something way better. It involves helicopters.’

‘You remembered!’ laughed Steve as he typed his number in Tony’s phone. ‘Great. I look forward to it.’

Tony put his number in Steve’s phone as well. ‘Of course I remember. You like sports cars, motorbikes and helicopters. First we’ll do helicopters, next thing will be motorbikes. I want to see you in a leather motor suit.’

‘Okay, that is enough,’ said Pepper. ‘We’re going.’ She grabbed Tony’s arm and pulled him out of the door. Phil followed them saying he would see them out. Nick Fury sighed, shook his head and walked out of the room as well.

‘So Clint was right?’ asked Natasha. ‘Your room was empty when you guys stayed over at Stark’s mansion in Malibu?’

‘No,’ answered Steve. ‘But he did take me to the balcony, showed me the stars and wanted to kiss me. If I let him we might have ended up with an empty bedroom, but I didn’t know how I could ever look that woman in the eyes again if I did that. She was still hoping for more, it felt like cheating.’

‘But you told him it would be fine once this was all over,’ said Natasha. It wasn’t a question, she knew.

‘Yeah,’ smiled Steve. ‘Then everyone would know Tony wasn’t interested in her and I didn’t have to be around the people involved with my camera anymore. It would be a lot easier that way. It sucked when Phil decided it was better if I didn’t work in Tony’s team anymore, but it all worked out, so I guess it’s fine.’

‘You knew you weren’t allowed to come in here while we were watching,’ said Natasha. ‘You never do something that you’re not allowed to and you even got into a fight with Phil about him. You must really like him. I’m happy for you Steve. Good luck.’

‘Thanks,’ answered Steve with a blush. ‘I do.’

‘Let’s finish the latest episode of the new show,’ said the redhead. ‘After the weekend you will have to tell me everything about your date.’

~

 

‘Dad! Dad! You’re on television!’ shouted Peter.

Tony walked out of the kitchen. They had just finished their dinner and he had been helping Steve with cleaning up. Or maybe they had been making out, but that counted as helping too, right, in one way or another.

‘Why am I on television?’ he asked as he plopped down on the couch next to his son. ‘Oh, yes, that’s me. Steve! Come and watch this! We’re on TV.’

Steve came out of the kitchen, drying his hands on a towel. ‘They’re airing it now? They never told us when they were going to broadcast it! How far are we in?’ He sat down next to Tony.

‘It just started,’ answered Tony. ‘See, they’re showing things from the first time I was on that show.’

They were watching a special of the Millionaire Matchmaker that followed a few of the millionaires that had been on the show years ago. They were asked if they had ended up with the man or woman they had picked in the show and if not, if they had found their love somewhere else. They had asked Tony to join and he had happily agreed. He didn’t end up with the girl he picked, but he did found his love thanks to the show.

‘Oh, they actually show how she freaked out when you didn’t want to kiss her!’ laughed Steve. ‘I remember shooting that. None of us really knew what to do. Phil was still hoping you two could have a happy ending, but Bruce and I were trying to help you, so you didn’t have to kiss her.’

‘It was extremely awkward,’ sighed Tony. ‘But look at how young I am there! I still looked so good! Why are you still with me?’

‘You still look sexy,’ answered Steve. ‘Your grey hairs are very sexy.’

Tony wanted to kiss his hot blond, but Peter yelled ‘eeeeeewww!’, so they separated again. 

‘If I can’t kiss your father, what about I kiss you instead?’ Tony asked as he made kissing lips and moved towards the young boy.

‘NOOOOOOOO!’ laughed Peter and he jumped of the couch. ‘I’m going to play!’

‘Sure,’ said Steve. ‘Be careful.’

‘Awww, there is the old me,’ sighed Tony as he watched the TV again.

The billionaire on television told that for him it was clear from the beginning that it wouldn’t work out between him and the girl, but she didn’t seem to feel like that and they ended up having a weird argument about kissing. That made it clear for everyone that they weren’t meant to be together. Then Patti came into view.

‘Oh, she doesn’t look a day older!’ said Steve surprised.

‘She filled up her wrinkles and made everything look smooth again,’ said Tony. ‘Next to her I look even older.’

‘No,’ answered Steve. ‘You look a lot better. At least you look natural, she looks like she is made of plastic. I don’t understand why anyone would do that to themselves.’

On television Patti was telling that Tony in the end did find his true love on the show. She explained how the billionaire had gotten close to one of the camera crew and when the show was over the two of them started dating. Things had worked out and they were still together. The couple appeared on screen and Steve chuckled.

‘I look terrible,’ he said. ‘You can see I’m nervous. Gosh, you make it look so easy! I prefer being on the other side of the camera.’

‘Steve, you’re so hot, nobody is going to notice you’re a little nervous. Look at you! You don’t look a day older than the first time we met. Everyone is drooling over how hot you are, nobody is actually listening to what you’re saying.’

Steve raised an eyebrow as he looked at his husband. Tony just grinned at him.

The Tony on television was explaining that they had become friends while they had been filming the episode, but he soon felt that being friends wasn’t going to be enough. He explained they had started dating and now, ten years later, they were still together.

Patti said she was so happy for them and asked what it was like to date a billionaire.

Steve said he didn’t really care about the money. He had paid for dates too, bought Tony presents now and then and because Tony wasn’t always the one paying, they felt equal. He said he had never stopped working and that he was still working as a camera operator, because he wanted to be independent. And he likes his job.

Patti told him how good it was he was doing his own things and didn’t depend on Tony and that he was a great example for a lot of women who liked their husbands to take care of them. When she asked them what had happened in the last ten years Tony answered. He told her they got married almost three years after they met and that they had adopted a boy about five years ago. He said that those two men in his life were the best things that ever happened to him.

‘You’re such a sweet talker,’ smiled Steve.

‘You love it, admit it,’ grinned Tony. ‘We should have thanked Stanger. We would have never met each other if she hadn’t asked me to join the show.’

‘That wasn’t her decision,’ answered Steve. ‘It was Nick Fury that wanted you on the show and he made sure you would actually come. So if you want to thank someone it should be him.’

‘No thank you,’ sighed the billionaire. ‘After all these years he still hates my guts, because I dropped by at your work whenever I had the time.’

‘You were a love sick puppy,’ laughed Steve. ‘You still are. Some things never change.’

‘DAAAAAAD!’ Peter shouted from his room. The two adults could hear the tears in his voice ‘Dad, my favourite car is broken. Can you fix it?’

‘Duty calls,’ said Tony as he got up. ‘I wish you needed me as much as that little boy of ours.’

‘When my car is broken I ask you to fix it too, right?’

‘I was hoping you needed me for other things, that happen when there are no kids around,’ answered the billionaire.

‘I might need you very badly tonight, in bed. So maybe if you come to bed in time for once you can help me out.’

‘Oh, I’ll be there!’ grinned Tony. ‘Don’t worry about that. I’ll be there.’


End file.
